Bob Le Flambeur: Criterion Collection

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All Rise...

The Charge

"Huit cents millions. L'affaire de ma vie."

Opening Statement

Last year, we were fortunate to have Criterion add the French film Rififi to its collection. Now we have
another title that evokes many of the same responses through a loving visual
caress of Paris in the 1950s, a detailed portrait of part of the French
underworld, and a methodical yet mesmerizing build-up of plot and character. The
film is Bob Le Flambeur (1956), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, whose
work in this film particularly would influence other filmmakers ranging from
those of the 1960s' Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) to more modern directors
like Quentin Tarantino, John Woo, and Paul Thomas Anderson. The title was for
many years kept out of circulation by Melville and his heirs, but made its
reappearance during the video era and now is finally available on DVD.

Facts of the Case

Bob Le Flambeur (Bob the gambler) spends his days mainly in the Montmartre
district of Paris trying his luck at whatever gambling opportunity presents
itself—cards, slot machines, horses, etcetera. Whether on top after a
winning streak or down to his last few francs, he maintains the same sunny,
positive disposition. Bob's best days are seemingly behind him, however, and he
is recognized as an eminence grise in the neighbourhood. Bob has become a
mentor to Paulo, a young gambler who is anxious to learn from and please the
veteran player. One day, after attending the racetrack with a close associate
and losing almost all his money, Bob learns of the substantial sums of cash that
are sometimes kept at the casino in Deauville, a popular French seaside town.
The possibility of one last big haul persuades Bob to take a chance on
organizing an elaborate heist in which he will play the key role.

The Evidence

Jean-Pierre Melville did not have a really lengthy career, but he did start
out going his own way. Bob Le Flambeur and his first feature film Le Silence de la Mer (1948) both
reflected that. Ironically, by the time the New Wave directors were actively
applying Melville's stylistic approaches to their work, Melville had gravitated
to more commercial filmmaking. He made several key French underworld films that
starred some of the top French actors of the 1960s—Jean-Paul Belmondo in
Le Doulos (1963) and Alain Delon in Le Samourai (1967). His final film was 1972's
Un Flic.

Virtually any article on the French New Wave will tell you that location
shooting, natural light, improvisation, and an emphasis on character actors are
all stylistic characteristics of that movement's films. These are the very same
elements that can be found in Bob Le Flambeur, a film that predates the
New Wave by some four years. It is for that reason that Jean-Pierre Melville is
sometimes referred to as the father (or at least an important ancestor) of that
movement.

Melville is perhaps an accidental father more than anything else, however,
for much of Bob Le Flambeur's look and content was dictated by the meager
resources available to Melville rather than by strictly artistic decisions on
his part. With money tight, Melville had to shoot only as and when he managed to
obtain film stock. He might only have enough film at any one time to shot for a
couple of days, then have to wait weeks or months before another opportunity
arose. He cast his film accordingly; that is to say, only actors who were
willing and able to work under such circumstances were signed up. Naturally,
many of the more prominent names of the day were not interested, which resulted
in a cast list of actors who were either lower on the star list, character
specialists, or complete unknowns. When he was able to shoot, Melville was often
at the mercy of the elements, hence the variety of weather conditions apparent
in the film. This variety contributes much to the film's natural look. That
combined with Melville's eye for capturing the flavour of Paris, particularly
the Montmartre district with its bistros, bars, raucous music, bright and
flashing lights, really conveys the feel of a special place at a unique time. As
we are gradually introduced to the story's characters and how comfortably they
seem to move in what for them is a familiar milieu, we soon begin to feel that
what is unfolding could happen nowhere else and at no other time.

Adding to the naturalness of all this is the set of characters we meet. Many
of them are well-worn faces that soon blend with the surroundings. None of them
are familiar to most of us as actors, and probably were not greatly so to
audiences of the time either, but they quickly seem like long-time
acquaintances. Roger Duchesne is perfect as the aging gambler Bob, so obsessed
with gambling that he has his own slot machine in his apartment. He conveys
convincingly the air of a man with past success, but now somewhat down on his
luck. One gets the sense that Bob's successes were modest, however, and that
there may be a fatal flaw that may prevent his ever hitting it really big.
Despite this possibility, it is obvious that whatever successes Bob had were at
least sufficient to accord him a favoured position in the community through
which he moves. Everyone knows him and nearly all defer to him with affection.
Even the veteran police officers hold a degree of respect for Bob and there is a
bond of friendship between him and Inspector Ledru particularly because of
events in the past.

Guy Decomble portrays Inspector Ledru and he looks like he's played a police
inspector in films more than once. His routine of speaking with a cigarette in
his mouth is a performance to behold. Daniel Cauchy plays the young novice Paulo
who looks to Bob with virtual hero worship. Cauchy plays Paulo with an open,
almost wide-eyed innocence that serves as a perfect counterpoint to Bob. Yet the
two characters are alike in a very important and ultimately unfortunate aspect.
When they get really involved in what they enjoy (with Bob it's a winning
streak, with Paulo it's Anne, the young woman that Bob has rescued from the
streets), they tend to forget everything else—to their detriment. Anne, by
the way, is played by a young acting novice, Isabelle Corey. She's an extremely
attractive young woman who gives Anne a bit of mystery along with her alluring
charms. Corey quickly became a movie pin-up girl in France as a result of her
work in the film.

Part of the appeal of the characters lies in the dialogue they speak. It
will probably be no surprise then for admirers of Rififi to hear that Auguste Le Breton is
around in Bob Le Flambeur to provide more of the smart dialogue that was
such a key element of the latter film. Unfortunately, Le Breton never seemed to
graduate much beyond these two films, his screenwriting career seemingly stuck
in a Rififi-like groove with such efforts as Du Rififi Chez Les
Femmes (1959) and Du Rififi à Paname (1966).

Criterion's DVD really shows off Bob Le Flambeur to advantage. The
black and white image has been restored, allowing a richly detailed transfer
that is clean and clear with excellent shadow detail. This has resulted in the
film's natural grain being somewhat evident in spots, but in a way that just
adds to the atmosphere of Paris that is so beautifully conveyed in the film.
This is the best the film has looked since its original release—in fact,
maybe the best, period.

A French Dolby Digital mono sound track is provided with optional English
subtitles. The sound has apparently been cleaned up substantially and given the
limited degree of fidelity, does a fine job conveying both the dialogue and the
rather hypnotic background music. Age-related hiss and distortion are virtually
nonexistent. The English subtitles provided are apparently a new translation,
addressing a concern that some people had with the subtitling available on
previous video incarnations.

The disc is not one of Criterion's packed efforts, as far as supplements go.
What is included, however, is very interesting and informative. A 22-minute
video interview with Daniel Cauchy covers much of the production basics. Aside
from what he has to say, it's also quite interesting to see how Cauchy looks
almost 50 years later. A 1961 radio interview with Jean-Pierre Melville gives
useful insight into Melville's film-making philosophy and also provides some
context for the making of Bob Le Flambeur. The interview is conducted by
Gideon Bachmann, a New York arts critic of the day. The supplements conclude
with the film's theatrical trailer.

Closing Statement

Well, Criterion delivers again. Bob Le Flambeur is an influential
French film of the mid-1950s that delivers on all counts—style,
atmosphere, engaging characters, snappy dialogue—and all filmed against
the gloriously unmistakable sights and sounds of Paris. The DVD transfer is
first-rate video-wise with a more-than adequate sound track. Recommended.

The Verdict

A not-guilty verdict for Bob Le Flambeur is a sure thing. As usual,
the Criterion treatment also is no gamble. Court is adjourned.